Improved bullet-mold



FATENTED APR. 25, 1854.

W. M. STORM.

BULLET MOLD,

THE NORRIS Fsr sns ca., WASHINGTON, a c.

UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFIGE.

'WMt STORM, on' nn'w ,YORK, Y.

IMPROVED BULLET-MOLD.

Speoificatioirforming part o'f Le'tter s Patent No. 10,834, dated April 25,1854.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, -WM. DIONTGOMERY STORM, of the city of N ew York, N.Y., have invented certain new anduseful Improvements inBu'llet-Molds, which render the operation of casting a ball more-speedy and easy, while theyat the same time provideimore effecthall y for thedeliveryof a perfectball'than in any mold heretofore essayed; and I do hereby .'declare that the'following specification, taken'in connection with the drawings, is afull and clear description thereof.

Figurellof the drawings represents a perspective view of my bullet mold complete; i a rlr ew ll mi v w hut and .Eig. 3a top view of the mold whenofpen.

4:. #The amount of time consumed in casting a guahti'ty. of small balls and the-greater; space reqnired'for shaving-oh; the sprues-am-nfacts wellk'nown to those-.who have'essayed the task, and the worst feature of 'the'whole operation is thattheball when completed is by no. means perfect, astheopeiator, no matter how great his dexterity, invariably cuts off the sprue either too near the ball or too far from it .In either event'the-ball is nolonger spherical, and its accuracy and range of fiightare both impaired. N ow, I am aware that these defects have been remedied entirely either-by the-process of producing balls by pressure ,or

by cumbrous machinery, which furnishes the .cast balls in large quantities in; the course of a regular manufacture. Neither the process or the-machine, however, will avail those who arev by the force of circumstances compelled to buy the lead and cast their own bails,'a11dit is to suit the wants of this latter class that my mold has been devised.

' To this end the nature of the "first part of,

my. invention consists in arranging the hinge, the jaws containing the mold proper, and the handles in such a manner that when combined with a spring said spring shall hold the two half-molds in contact and ready for the reception of the lead, and a grasp'of one hand of the operator shall open the jaws and permit the bullet, when east, to drop' out; and the nature of the second part of my invention consists in combining with a bullet-mold a shaver in such a manner. that by the action of one hand of the operator the cast bullet may bedeprived of its sprue and the-mold opened, so

" as to permit the ball to drop, while a relaxakcontri'v'ance, sis-"although it would increase the perfection of the ball, itwould lessen only in a slight degreethetirne-required iii-its forma tion. My mold, however, is so arrangedthat a strong'grasp of one handfopens the matrix. while a relaxation ofthat grasp permits a spring-to .hold the tw'o-half-dies in sufficiently ,close contact to. produce'a good'casting. This grasp of a single band at thesame time actuates theicntter'or shaver and neatly'removes thesprue. There also results from this arrangement the incidental and by no means slight advantage thattheoperator may retain continually inlth'e other hand the vessel of moltenlead until its contents are entirely molded intoba'l'ls'.

thereof. The two arms are pivoted to each other at e by a pin which passes through the projections on the one jaw and one on the other, forming a rule or compass joint. The] arms are kept asunder and the jaws together by means of a spring, d, thus reversing the either jaw is ,a'c'curately bored out a'hemispherical cavity so located that the periphery of the spherical matrix, which they form when closed, is slightly out bythe plane which bounds the upper side of the jaws. One of these cavities is represented at k in the perspective view. Upon. the upper side of these jaws is located the. vibrating shaver and funnel f,'pivoted upon one of the jaws and slotted near one of its extremities at 70, while the funnel; the reaming 'operationbeing pushed so far' that a minute circular hole is bored en- In" the drawings, A .A representthe arms of. the mold; b b, the jaws, and a c the handlesconstruction of the ordinary bullet-mold. In I other is reamed out at 9, so as to form a smallthrown out.

tirelythrough the shaver. This methodoi construction thinsdown the edges ofthis cir-' oul'ar aperture, beveling it, on all sides much in the same manner as the blades of shears. A small pin, 'i, projects from the other jaw and enters this slot, and the lengths of the two arms of the shaver,'the position of its pivot, andthe length of the slot are so calculated and adapted to each other that the minute hole in the shaver shall be immediately over the center of the cavity when the jaws {are closed, and shall vibrate'to one side when they are opened sufiioiently far. to completely sever the neck or sprue of the ball. I

I will now proceed to describe the method of using the mold.

The apparatusin the position as represented in Fig. 2, which it natur'allyassumes, is held lightly in one hand,while the crucible of molten lead is grasped in the other. A small p'ortion of lead is now poured into the funnel un-' til the mold is filled. The handles are then tightly grasped by the hand that holds them, whenthe shaver cuts off the sprue.. Themold is then slightly tapped against some solid bod y,

and the finished ball and the 'sprue are both The grasp of the'operatoris then relaxed, and the apparatus assumes its original position. Another charge of lead'is poured in, and the operations are repeated insuccession until the supply of lead gives out.-

By reference to the drawings it will be per 'ceived that the ball when cast and in the act of being deprived of its neck is by the action of the shaver held firmly against or rather in one of the hemispherical cavities, and that the top of its containing jaw forms, with the shaver, a very efi'ective shears. j

' It is obvious that the "arrangement of the shears and theimethod of operating them by' pins and slots or toggles or their equivalents may be varied in'many ways without departing from the principle'of my invention so as they areso constructed that a grasp ofoi ie hand of the operator opens the mold and shaves ofi the'ne'ck of the ball; and it is flirther evident that-a series of molds might be formed in'the jaws with a series of shavers properly arranged, or with one shaver for all .the molds,-' and that such an arrangement would be almere multiplication of my invention, and also that the spring might be riveted one leg to each jaw, with its bend extending I as a nose beyond the jaws, in which case it would close the jaws by its tendency to contract, and that these andother'arrangements of the spring or the use of springs of difierent well-known species would not alter the charactor of. the invention so long as the spring always tends to hold the mold in the casting position.

Having thus fully; described my invention,

a what I claim therein as new, and desire to sethe handles or their equivalents, whereby the hall is deprived of its spruc and released from its matrix by the closing or compressing to-- gether of the handles.

WM- MT. STORM.

Witnesses: 1

J. A. H. Hasanonon, JAS. W. HALE. 

